Stink Soiree—To celebrate the nationwide DVD release of legendary local zombie film The Stink of Flesh (hitting store shelves June 7), there will be a special release party at Hastings Books & Music (6001 Lomas NE) on Friday, June 10, from 7-9 p.m. Writer/director Scott Phillips will be on hand along with a chunk of the cast, including Kurly Tlapoyawa, Billy Garberina, Kristín Hansen and our very own Alibi film editor Devin O'Leary. (Yup, that's me digging through a pile o' zombie poop for the sake of art.) Gore fans and other curious individuals can pick up Tempe Video's special edition disc of Stink (complete with cast commentary, “making of” documentary, opening night footage, bloopers, short film and more) and get it autographed by the disturbed people responsible for its creation. Word on the street is that some of the living dead might even put in an appearance.

Happiness (1998)

By Kurly Tlapoyawa

When somebody comes into Burning Paradise Video looking for a “dark” comedy, I usually direct them to Happiness, an ass-kicking little film by cult fan favorite Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse). Of course, I have to preface my suggestion by making it perfectly clear that by dark comedy I mean extremely dark, sick, twisted, disturbing and funny as all hell. The film plays like a perversely deranged version of Magnolia, in that there are numerous stories and characters which intersect throughout the film. At the center of this disturbing joyride are three New Jersey sisters: Joy (Jane Adams), Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle) and Trish (Cynthia Stevenson).

Dreamy dream film dreams a dream about dreamy dreamers and the dreams they dream of

By Devin D. O'Leary

I've gotta give filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, From Dusk Till Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico) credit for a lot of things. The man deserves props for his creativity, relying on imagination rather than budget to solve problems. He deserves a round of applause for continually rejecting Hollywood, preferring instead to shoot low-budget movies in his garage (literally). Now, he deserves kudos for being one of the most schizophrenic filmmakers in the world. Who else could release the exhilaratingly violent Sin City and the cloyingly juvenile The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D within a three-month span?

“Into the West” on TNT

By Devin D. O'Leary

TNT--the network that has worked, seemingly single-handedly, to keep alive the name of Louis L'Amour--is still putting all of its basic cable muscle behind the Great American Western. This summer, the net has joined forces with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks to create the 6-week maxi-series “Into the West.” This sprawling multigenerational Western seeks to chronicle nothing less than the entire history of the American West.

The Week in Sloth

Thursday 9

“The Cut” (KRQE-13 7 p.m.) Tommy Hilfiger hosts this new reality show searching for the next great American clothing designer. The winner gets to work for Tommy. CBS promises that this will be “unlike any reality series you've ever seen”--assuming, of course, that you've never seen “Project Runway,” “The Apprentice,” “The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best” or pretty much any other reality series.

“The Mysterious World of Alain Nu” (TLC 7 p.m.) Renowned mentalist Alain Nu travels the country performing assorted mysterious feats. He's an expert at psychological manipulation and is quite a bit better than showboater David Blaine.